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The fight for the lead of the German MotoGP went down to the last lap with Honda teammates Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner seemingly inseparable as they swept around the circuit at top speed.

Then, with just a couple of corners left, there was just one Honda still on the track. The Australian was walking away from his crashed bike while Pedrosa flashed across the finish line to take his first win of the season.

“I'm pretty disappointed. I had planned to go for my 'win or bin' effort in the last corner not that one,” Stoner said.

"I felt confident but as soon as I tried to turn in a little more, the front went ... I guess the weight came off the front and down I went.”

In a complete contrast to qualifying, conditions for the race were warm and dry with all but one of the riders preferring the greater cornering stability and durability of the extra-hard Bridgestone front tyre. Rear tyre choice was more evenly split, with eleven of the twenty-one riders selecting the softer rear option.

“Sachsenring is a very abrasive circuit and after analysing the rear tyres after the warm up session, we advised some riders to use the harder rear slick option instead of the softer rear to limit tyre wear during the race,” said Shinji Aoki – Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department.

“Another benefit of using the harder rear slick is that its grip levels are very stable over the duration of the race as shown by Dani Pedrosa being able to set the fastest lap of the race on the very last lap.”

Stoner’s crash allowed Jorge Lorenzo to take second place and reclaim the lead in the championship while Pedrosa’s victory has made it a three-way battle for the title.

“Casey and I were together the whole race and we were both doing fast laps so I knew it would come down to the last lap,” the Spaniard said.

“I was good under braking and pushed really hard to the end and I am very happy that after so many podiums I won my first race of the season and I’d like to thank my team and everyone around me for their support.”